


The Flower Thief

by military_bluebells



Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Flowers, Fluff, Hospitals, Injury, M/M, Walt is a Cute Boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23949490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/military_bluebells/pseuds/military_bluebells
Summary: Brad was starting to get annoyed. Nate would interject  that Brad'd been annoyed since the first time he’d noticed blue hydrangeas and forget-me-nots missing from their front garden.
Relationships: Brad Colbert/Nate Fick, Walt Hasser/Ray Person
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	The Flower Thief

Brad was starting to get annoyed. Nate would interject that Brad'd been annoyed since the first time he’d noticed blue hydrangeas and forget-me-nots missing from their front garden. It was a modest garden, tidy but with some colour. They put effort into it, something to do together when they were stressed or had enough time. So, when Brad went out to water the flowers, he was _mildly_ irritated to see some missing. 

He'd shrugged it off as a one-time thing and went to work. 

The next day, some more were missing. Brad went from mildly irritated to irritated. Nate gave him a half-amused look at the dinner table as Brad used his fork more aggressively than usual. 

“It isn’t that big of a problem, Brad.” Nate said, the corner of his mouth raised. 

Brad sighed, “My mother bought us the forget-me-nots, and if there aren’t any in the garden when she visits-“ 

“She’ll assume the worst.” Nate finished, twirling his fork gracefully, “So what are you planning?” 

Brad grinned, “I’m at home tomorrow.” 

Nate pursed his lips, but it didn’t stop the curl of his mouth, “Don’t hurt them, I’m sure they have a good reason.” 

* * *

Brad waited patiently in their bedroom, overlooking the front garden. Nate'd given him a pot of coffee before he left for work, so Brad sipped from his mug as he waited. He’d narrowed down the most likely time for the thief to appear, to be between eleven and one, since he’d left for the afternoon shift at one, but Nate hadn’t noticed the flowers missing when he’d left at eleven for a late start. 

He made himself some lunch and sat patiently at the bedroom window. 

Some of their neighbours passed by; several people walking dogs, some young mothers with small children. So far no one had spared the garden a glance, until a young man - probably a couple of years younger than him and Nate - stopped by their fence. He had spiky blond hair, a wide set jaw and ears that stuck out. A medium build with broad shoulders, dressed in a non-descript work uniform. 

He hovered by the fence, looking around before crouching down and picking three forget-me-nots from the cluster by the path. The thief then. 

Brad made his way to the front door carefully and opened it. The thief didn’t notice as they were moving some of the blue hydrangeas and forget-me-nots around their palm, arranging them. 

“Most people buy flowers.” Brad said. The thief jerked and whipped his head to Brad, freezing on the spot. 

“Um…” The thief said, staring widely at Brad. Brad stepped out and pulled the door closed behind him. The thief stood slowly and fidgeted on his feet. 

“I don’t have anything planned today,” Brad started, “so, I want to see whether this girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft.” 

The thief stared at Brad for a second before blinking, “You won’t report me to anyone?” 

“Not if I see the girl.” 

“Boy,” the thief blurted, turning pink, “It’s a boy.” 

Brad hummed and let a small grin stretch across his face. “Boy.” He repeated, nodding his head. The thief scuffed his feet, not moving until Brad tilted his head. He stepped out onto the sidewalk flowers bunched together in his hand in a somewhat nice arrangement. 

“What’s your name?” Brad asked as they started down the sidewalk. 

“Walt.” 

Brad nodded, “Brad.” The silence that followed was awkward, Walt seemed to be more focused on the sidewalk, keeping his head down. They walked for some time, heading downtown. 

“So, why not buy flowers?” Brad asked as they passed the bus station. 

“There isn’t a flower shop on my route from work.” Walt explained, “And they usually want to sell me roses and stuff.” 

“Your boy prefers blue flowers?” Brad asked with a smirk. Walt’s cheeks turned pink again. 

“He says he doesn’t like flowers but… I know he does and that he knows the meanings of flowers as well.” 

Brad rose an eyebrow, “Meanings?” 

Walt tilted his head down, “Forget-me-nots symbolise true love and hydrangeas symbolise strong feelings of love.” 

Brad hummed, nodding along. They turned down the main street, which was bustling with people at lunch time. Brad assumed they were heading for a café, so he kept his eye out for ones. Walt walked by them all however, heading past the busy shops. There was a park ahead of them, but not much else in the way of date places. 

They stopped on the other side of the street from the park. Brad nodded to it, 

“You could have gotten your flowers from the park.” 

Walt shook his head, “They don’t have these kinds of flowers, I checked.” 

“So, will he be waiting on a bench?” 

Walt pressed his lips together and looked away, shuffling his feet on the sidewalk, “He isn’t in the park, he’s in here.” Walt nodded to the building next to them. Brad scanned the front and read the sign on the wall. 

West Los Angeles Hospital. 

Brad read it again and looked back to Walt, who looked uncomfortable. _Shit_ , Brad thought. Still he pulled his shoulder back and tilted his head towards the door. 

“Well then, better not keep him waiting.” 

Walt smiled softly and walked up the steps into the hospital. The foyer was noisy and full of people, those dressed in scrubs rushing around. Most were sat, obviously waiting. Walt walked up to the front desk and a stern looking woman burst into a bright smile when she saw him. 

“Walt.” She said warmly. 

“Hi, Marian.” Walt said, leaning on the desk, “Can I visit?” 

Marian rolled her eyes, “Son, I gave you permission before, of course, you know he’s insufferable without a visit.” 

Walt chuckled, “Has he behaved himself today?” 

Marian pulled a face, “When does he ever?” she cracked a smile at the end. She looked over at Brad and gave him thorough look. “Who’s this?” 

Walt gave Brad a glance, “He’s a friend of mine, Brad, this is Marian.” 

Brad nodded to her and she narrowed her eyes before looking to Walt, “So long as he doesn’t cause trouble.” She said. Walt nodded quickly and she waved them off, not before eyeing Brad. 

They walked down a corridor and into an elevator, the doors shutting behind the two of them. They rode it up to the fourth floor, where Walt stepped out and gestured Brad to follow. The hospital was more like a maze than Brad'd been expecting but they finally reached a door labelled with a letter and some numbers. Walt pushed through it and then they were in a small ward with four beds. The patients all looked up but only one burst into a smile and a loud call of, 

“Walt, sunshine!” The man in question was young, like Walt, with thick, short brown hair and a wide grin, offsetting the bandage around his forehead. Walt walked towards him and embraced him, before reaching up to draw the curtains. Brad sat himself down in the chair next to the bed and watched Walt give the boy the flowers. 

The boy grinned and lay a smacking kiss to Walt’s cheek, “Walt baby, you don’t have to keep bringing me flowers for me to sleep with you.” 

Walt’s cheeks were pink again, but he replied, “I should be getting a lot more than flowers to be sleeping with _you_.” 

The boy laughed loudly before turning to Brad suddenly, “Did you bring me a stripper Walt?” 

Brad rose an eyebrow. 

Walt stammered, “No Ray, this is… Brad. The man I’ve been stealing flowers from.” The second part was quieter, but Ray still caught on, gasping theatrically. 

“Walter Hasser, I thought you were an upstanding citizen of the US of A, but now I see you just a good for nothing criminal.” Ray turned to Brad. “I am so sorry my boyfriend been pilfering your precious possessions.” 

“I would like to say that this is just the drugs talking, but he’s always like this,” Walt said, somewhat apologetically but with an amused sparkle in his eyes. 

Brad nodded, saying dryly, “I know some numbers you can call if you need some help.” 

Ray squawked in the background, but Walt laughed, coming to sit by Ray’s side. He leant down and kissed Ray’s forehead and Ray quietened down from where he’d been rambling. 

“In all seriousness homes,” Ray said, “you’re not actually going to report him, are you?” 

“No,” Brad said after a second. Walt visibly relaxed, smiling more surely at Brad. Brad nodded back and turned to Ray, “So, what happened?” 

“Some jackass didn’t look both ways before pulling out of a street, I was thrown over his hood, completely smashed my bike.” 

“What did you drive?” Brad asked, leaning forward. 

“Ducati, 695.” 

Brad grinned, “R1.” 

Ray threw his head back and laughed, “Of fucking course.” Walt watched on, looking between the pair. 

“You still got the wreck?” Brad asking, mind working. 

“Yeah, but after this stay in hospital, I ain’t gonna to be able to have it fixed. And I’m pretty sure my boss has fired me since, you know,” Ray waved his hand around the room. 

Brad nodded, “You any good at fixing bikes?” 

Ray went to open his mouth, but Walt cut in, “Yes, he’s good at fixing all sorts of things, he built the bike by himself.” 

Brad nodded along, “My friend's been looking for another competent mechanic for his shop, Bravo Two.” 

Ray’s eyes widened, “Bravo?” he repeated. 

“I could give you the number.” 

“Homes,” Ray said before cutting himself off. He opened his mouth and shut it again. Brad looked over to Walt with amusement and pointed to Ray, 

“This happen often.” 

“Almost never.” Walt grinned, “And that would be great. Thank you.” 

Brad shrugged, “Now we just have to find a way for you to repay me for the flowers.” 

Ray grinned, “Walt makes the best pastries this side of Los Angeles.” Walt blushed, as Ray patted his stomach with a wink. 

Brad nodded, “My anniversary is coming up and Nate’s practically a whore for anything sugary.” 

Walt smiled, “I can probably fit in a cake order.” 

The nurse appeared to check on Ray, who had apparently broken some ribs and his ankle, bruised the majority of his shoulder, and got a mild concussion from the accident. He’d been luck not to break anything else was the nurse’s comment to Brad. Brad knew, he’d had some nasty crashes in his time. 

He let them be after that, not wanting to impose on their time together. They were leaning in close to each other, Ray obviously whispering as Walt chuckled. 

When Nate wheedled out of Brad how things had transpired, he laughed and left a Get Well Soon card - Pappy’s number written inside - with a bunch of freshly picked blue flowers on the kitchen table, for Brad to take when he visited Ray.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Credit, from my friend Seth: https://awful-aus.tumblr.com/post/116941769918/awful-au-196


End file.
